Russia, scrap your anti-gay laws

By Nick Symmonds

Updated 8:59 AM ET, Fri January 31, 2014

Sochi transformed 19 photos

Sochi transformed – The sun rises over Sochi's Olympic Park on January 10, 2014. The 2014 Winter Olympics will run February 7 - 23 in Sochi, Russia. Six thousand athletes from 85 countries are scheduled to attend the 22nd Winter Olympics. Here's a look at the estimated $50 billion transformation of Sochi for the Games.

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Sochi transformed 19 photos

Sochi transformed – Soaring snowcapped peaks, some topping 10,000 feet, tower over the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on January 22, 2007. These are Russia's first Olympic Games, although the former Soviet Union hosted the 1980 Summer Olympic Games in Moscow.

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Sochi transformed 19 photos

Sochi transformed – The city of Sochi, which is also a fishing town, was among three finalists bidding for the Olympics. Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang, South Korea, also competed.

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Sochi transformed 19 photos

Sochi transformed – In the Imeretinskay Valley, a woman plays with a dog in February 2007, near an advertisement for the Olympic Park soon to be built in the area. Organizers of the Sochi Olympics say they want these Games to be the greenest, most environmentally aware games ever staged.

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Sochi transformed 19 photos

Sochi transformed – Construction vehicles travel along the Imeretinskaya Valley, the site of Olympic facilities for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, in April 2009. Ice events will be held in a "cluster" near the Black Sea in the Imeretinskaya Valley. The second "cluster" will be for skiing and sliding events and will be held in the Krasnaya Polyana Mountains.

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Sochi transformed 19 photos

Sochi transformed – People work on their vegetable gardens near the construction site of the Olympic facilities in the Imeretinskaya Valley in April 2009.

Sochi transformed – The Iceberg figure-skating and short-track venue is pictured in September 2013.

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Sochi transformed 19 photos

Sochi transformed – The "coastal cluster" venues for the 2014 Winter Olympic Games are pictured in January 2014 in Sochi.

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Sochi transformed 19 photos

Sochi transformed – The Olympic rings for the 2014 Winter Olympics are installed in Sochi on September 25, 2012.

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Sochi transformed 19 photos

Sochi transformed – About 37,000 security officers will be deployed for the Sochi Games. Police officers walk in front of the main press center at the Olympic Park in Sochi on January 7, 2014.

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Sochi transformed 19 photos

Sochi transformed – The Olympic rings light up the sky outside Sochi International Airport. An estimated 3 billion people are expected to watch the Olympics on television.

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Story highlights

Nick Symmonds: Olympians could raise issue of Russia's anti-gay laws

Symmonds: International Olympic Committee is against all discrimination

He says if Russia crack down on gays, the IOC must not turn a blind eye

Symmonds: Olympic Games is about setting aside differences, not persecution

I can vividly recall watching my first Olympic Games. Lying on the floor of the Boise, Idaho, home I grew up in, I tuned in each evening to the 1992 Barcelona Games.

I remember the moment when the athletes entered the stadium during the Opening Ceremonies. As I saw Team USA walk in, everyone dressed in stunning outfits, proudly waving our flag, I felt a sense of national pride that I had never known before. I was 9 at the time and completely enchanted by the magic of the Olympic Games.

In a world full of politics and war, here was a moment where everyone could set aside their differences and instead battle on the playing field for the love of competition and national pride.

In an ideal world this is what the Olympic Games should always be about. However, we do not live in an ideal world. Rather, we live in an imperfect one where something as simple and beautiful as loving someone can get you thrown to the streets or put in jail or even murdered.

Nick Symmonds

For this reason, as much as I am excited to see the incredible athletic contests at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia, I am also paying close attention to the political theater that will play out there. People from around the world will be watching. We should use this opportunity to insist that Russia change its discriminatory laws against gay people.

In the summer of 2013, I had the distinct pleasure of representing the U.S. at the World Championships for Track and Field in Moscow. While there, I finished second in the 800 meters, and subsequently dedicated my medal to the gay community.

This received much international media attention due to the fact that I was one of the first athletes to openly criticize Russia's anti-gay propaganda laws on Russian soil. Though I was one of the first, I will certainly not be the last.

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As the Winter Olympics unfold, I am confident that we will see many Olympians from around the world protest these antiquated and discriminatory laws. The Russian government will be faced with two choices: Ignore those that break the law and face ridicule from its own people, or enforce its laws by punishing the lawbreakers and challenge the International Olympic Committee to enforce its own charter.

Principle 6 of the IOC charter states that any form of discrimination, including sexual orientation, is incompatible with the Olympics. When the IOC awarded Russia the 2014 Winter Olympics, Russia had not yet passed their discriminatory laws. With the laws now firmly in place, the IOC has a responsibility to the international community to make sure that its charter is upheld or risk putting the Olympic movement's credibility at stake.

As an athlete, I understand how hard the Olympic athletes have trained for the last four years. They deserve the chance to compete against the world's best at the highest level. However, their right to compete must not come at the expense of basic human rights.

I encourage the athletes to remember why they are in Sochi and what their primary job is. But I am confident that many of these Olympians and their fans will also bring up the issue. We will probably see different forms of protest throughout the Olympic Games. And should Russia decide to enforce its discriminatory laws, the IOC must ultimately be held responsible.

I ask that you join me in keeping the IOC accountable and demanding that it upholds its own charter. Recently, two nonprofits, Athlete Ally and All Out, joined forces to create the Principle 6 campaign, which includes a petition calling for Russia to put an end to its discriminatory laws. The website contains information that can be shared via social media to remind people that sport does not and should not discriminate on the ground of race, religion, gender, politics, or sexual orientation.

As always, I am eagerly counting down the days to the beginning of the next Olympic Games. We are sure to witness some of the finest displays of athletic brilliance the world has ever seen. In both the triumphs and defeats, let us allow these Games to bring us together as citizens of the world. Let us show support and thanks to the host nation, while at the same time holding it to the standards and responsibility that comes with the honor of hosting such a world-class event.